Stealing the Stars
by yaslanagirl
Summary: Hermione has a penchant for stargazing. Her refuge in the Astronomy Tower is discovered and she can no longer call it her own private retreat. Set in Third Year. Sometimes your brain can't scream loud enough for the rest of you to listen and sometimes that's a good thing. Under the cloak of night things develop, and in the blinding light of day they are torn apart. Joy perseveres.


I'll add to this as time goes on, but there is no overarching plot just yet.

I do not own anything contained herein, and I have gained nothing except a more well-rounded self by writing and posting this work here.

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**Prompt** - Tower (randomized). I'd like to see Hermione in Gryffindor tower or the astronomy tower. Perhaps with her significant other. It could be angsty, fluffy, dramatic, or something completely different. I'd just like there to be feels of some sort.

**setting** - Astronomy Tower, Gryffindor Tower has a cameo; early Third Year  
**cast** - Hermione and Draco

**Stealing the Stars**

"Even as a child, she had preferred night to day, had enjoyed sitting out in the yard after sunset, under the star-speckled sky listening to frogs and crickets. Darkness soothed. It softened the sharp edges of the world, toned down the too-harsh colors. With the coming of twilight, the sky seemed to recede; the universe expanded. The night was bigger than the day, and in its realm, life seemed to have more possibilities." - Dean Koontz

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Hermione put down her book on muggle authors and tilted her head back to the stars. It was something she'd stumbled across in the dusty corners of the library, and she found herself really enjoying this collection of poetry. Her fingers brushed over the words absently as she reflected upon them. This one in particular, _Midnight_, really spoke deeply to her, as though the author had taken a peek into her heart and wrote it just for her in this moment. Such things weren't possible, but it still seemed too fitting not to at least entertain the theory.

Certainly under starlight, many more things were possible than she could ever entertain in the light of day. Too many people, important people whose opinions mattered to her, would object to the target of her interest. Not to mention, she didn't have any reason to believe it wasn't unrequited affection. Hermione didn't intend to pine away for a boy who wouldn't look twice at her in that way, especially if her troubles only rewarded her with social stigma, and possibly losing face with her friends.

_What should it matter to them, anyway?_ She thought angrily, _It shouldn't matter who anybody likes!_

Hermione gently reminded herself that they did not have the luxury of seeing each day from two different perspectives. They wouldn't understand things the same way, and while she cared deeply for her friends and thought them clever in their own ways, knowing that everything has more than one story isn't something that can simply be explained. There was no way she would share the incredible privileged secret hiding on a golden chain under her sweater, and without it, her boys would simply have to learn that particular lesson on their own - the long and difficult way.

Sighing again, she canted her head backwards to gaze up at the moonless sky. It provided an unrivalled view of the stars. Even though she was an avid student, stargazing was something that the young witch participated in willingly simply for enjoyment.

In the deep silence, she heard heavy footsteps on the stairs and instantly thought she was about to get caught out of bed. Taking a deep breath, Hermione willed herself into silence, not daring to move a single muscle.

The door creaked open, and a very young sigh split the air. Confused, she turned on the bench and craned her neck around to peek past the huge telescope that was the focus of the astronomy tower. Her breath would have caught in her throat if she hadn't already been holding it, because in the doorway stood a fellow student. Not a professor, so she was safe for now. Most importantly, it hadn't been the terrifying Professor Snape in his huge billowing black robes.

Taking a moment to calm her adrenaline infused pulse and breathe slowly and softly, Hermione closed her eyes and tried not to make a sound. She wanted to see their behavior in this, her quiet escape, and she was afraid that if she alerted whoever it was to their audience, the young witch would be robbed of the chance to satisfy her curiosity.

Her brown eyes widened in disbelief, however, when she recognized the face that was tilted up to the stars in an expression of calm relaxed wonder. It was not a set of features she would ever expect to see so at ease and reduced to simply enjoying the majesty of the night. Maybe it was the coolness of the night, or the wind, or the openness, or the endless spread of stars that stretched overhead which enthralled him so, but Hermione never thought she would witness the haughty _Prince of Slytherin_ indulging in something that she considered so thoroughly soul-cleansing.

It was unexpected, and just another example of how everything has more than one facet.

Intrigued, Hermione schooled her features into calm reverence under the stars as she gazed up at them. She wanted him to see her as honestly as she had caught him, as foolish as that may be, she wanted to show him that they had something in common. Her words certainly wouldn't convey her sincerity, so let him believe that he had caught her unawares as she had secretly seen him.

Satisfied that she had forgotten about Malfoy and her thoughts were sufficiently trained on the stars, she fiddled with the page in her book that contained the poem by that muggle Koontz. In the silence of the night, it was as blatant as a verbal greeting, and she felt a little rush as his footsteps carried her swiftly into his line of sight. He was seeing her honest feelings about the heavens, and whether he would run away now or not was up to him.

Hermione decided to be a little difficult, and left the initial introductions to him. He was the one intruding on her haven, anyway, and if she wasn't quite as immersed in stargazing as she pretended, it wouldn't hurt anyone. She felt he deserved a bit of difficulty, especially with his prior behavior toward her and her friends. Hermione wasn't exactly vengeful, but she couldn't deny the spark of self satisfaction that thrummed through her with the knowledge that she was making him squirm.

Her patience was rewarded when she heard him cough softly, and immediately she drew her full attention down from the stars, affecting first fear that she'd been caught, then relief that it was a student, then wariness when she 'recognized' who it was. Hermione wasn't a very good actor, but she hoped it was convincing enough for Malfoy.

She frowned a little bit, "What are you doing up here?" she tried hard to keep any offensive emotions out of her voice, and when her breath threatened to go out of control, Hermione pulled her focus off of his gaze and back onto the stars.

If a smirk could have made any sound, she would have heard it loud and clear, but she didn't have to see it to know it was there. Very carefully she gestured to the stars with a nod, trying to prompt him into answering the question instead of goading her into another tiff.

His voice was confident, but chilled by the breeze, "The sky…" he trailed off, considering his words and likely whether he would regret sharing them with her or not, "is liberating."

This prompted her to look back at him with a raised eyebrow, not in incredulity, just surprise, though he seemed to misunderstand her meaning.

His nose tilted up in that cutely irritating way and he explained as though it was below him to put words to the concept, "Just because we sleep underground doesn't mean I can't marvel at the stars." He tilted his head to consider her book, blanket, and warm sweater, "believe me, I had no idea you would be up here."

She couldn't decide whether the sharpness in his tone was irritation with her for being there first and thus depriving him of the stars, or derision at her person in general.

Hermione sent him a sharp glare, but he held his ground (and_ was that a tiny smile?_), and she huffed and turned away again. If he was going to be difficult as their past demanded, she wasn't going to make it terribly easy either. She pointedly ignored him for a few minutes, and marveled equally in the stars and his unswerving admiration of them. Eventually she took pity on him (_who wants to stand to stargaze?_), and shifted rather loudly and obviously on the bench.

The sound and movement in the corner of his vision caught his full attention, and she vaguely gestured to it as though bored with the development. In reality, though, her heart was nearly pounding out of her chest with adrenaline and excitement. They had never been in each others presence for this long without descending into a verbal mudslinging match, and it thrilled her in ways that she knew she should forget about. Nothing could come of anything, but all the same, the brilliant young lady knew she wanted to leave on good terms.

She tried to breathe normally, and didn't quite manage it until he had seated himself on the other end of the bench. He was likely irritated at having to share his stargazing moments with her - and she was likewise annoyed - but she doubted he would have sat down unless he was at least a little willing to share the stars; more likely he would rather simply acknowledge that they were having a similar experience and leave it at that. Regardless, it was a step closer to being on good terms than the bitter rivals they were currently, and the idea made Hermione forget to actually watch the stars.

Silently they both sat there, unmoving, witnessing the stars track across the sky. Nothing was said about being out of bed after-hours, and the quiet that had settled between them was left undisturbed. Slowly as the heavens spun above them, Hermione felt the stresses of her daily life unwind from around her, and got lost inside the vast realm of the tiny pinpricks of light.

Eventually, a sleepy smile found its way onto her face, a gentle one that was pleased without having to do anything, and Hermione knew it was time to return to her dormitory. She was content, though a bit chilled from the night air, but when faced with the enormity and beauty of the stars, the worries and stresses from the week melted away and seemed as tiny as the dust motes in the library.

Very quietly, she closed her book and folded her quilt, draping it over her arm, and she stood smoothly. Hermione breathed deeply of the night breeze, appreciating the nuances that she could only guess came from Malfoy, and prepared herself for the long journey back to Gryffindor tower. She would have to be especially cautious if she didn't want to raise suspicion and get him in trouble. It had seemed to her that they had an agreement of secrecy. That was fine with her, and she didn't want to be the first to break their unspoken pact.

In this shared interest, she had no reason to be nasty to him, and every way to understand each other. As she was about to open the door, she whispered something that might have gotten stolen by the wind, but she didn't care. Hermione couldn't keep the words to herself. She could only keep to silence in certain things, and common courtesy upon parting was not one of them, "Sleep well."

It was soft and quiet, and almost certainly didn't reach him, but she opened the door before she could think too hard on it.

Making her way back to Gryffindor tower was tricky, and she was quite grateful for the shortcuts and helpfully quiet portraits for their cooperation. The fat lady was a bit of trouble to wake in the early morning hours, but Hermione waved off the concern with a wave of her book and mumbling something about the library before hissing the password with irritation and "_won't you let me **in** already?_"

Finally safe in the common room, Hermione deposited the borrowed blanket on one of the wingback chairs, and slowly made her way up to her dormitory for some much needed rest. If her thoughts kept revisiting the look of wonder on Draco's face when he thought nobody could see, she wasn't telling. It would go in the same pile of things that she strove to ignore, in the efforts of forgetting her destined-to-fail interests.

Hermione smiled sadly to herself. It was all something she could consider in greater detail in the morning. It would be easier in the morning, in the polarizing light of day, when this wouldn't be possible and her life would be simpler.


End file.
